Bearing



@Ct 25 1943 w. L ll-iANsEN ET AL 2,332,634

BEARING Filed Jan. 27,1942

BELL m5 7,22! Qms /4 l 5@ 1a 7 nllllll-llll I 2S i mmm 3 32, so .Ml-@w25 25 UUUUEDUW; UUUQIQQDCL/ UUU@ @UUGUU mg e 'I8 l f l5 www I4 4 WILLIAMLHANSEN,

@Mowqm Patented er. 26, 1943 William L. Hansen, Ira N. Hurst, and JohnE. Johnson, Princeton, Ind., assignors to Hansen Manufacturing Company,Inc., Princeton, Ind.,

a corporation of Indiana Application January 27, 1942, Serial No.428,417

Claims.

The present invention relates to lubricating systems and apparatus andmore particularly to oil retainers suitable for bearings, shafts,gearing, etc.

In the lubrication of rotating or reciprocating parts it has beencustomary to employ absorbent material such as felt packing saturatedwith oil which bears against the moving parts in order to transfer oilthereto. However, material of this character varies as to its absorbentand wearing properties so that its lubricating function cannot be judgedaltogether accurately. The felt material often becomes dry over a periodof time through depletion or evaporation of the oil and takes on ahardened, glazed surface which may mar the surface of the moving partand in any case would prevent further ilow of lubricating fluid.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an oilretainer orbearing which is 1 made completely out of metal and requiresno felt or other absorbent material.

Another object is to provide an .oil retainer suitable for nat or roundbearing surfacesl and having@ relatively long oil retaining life,'giving up its oil at exactly the rate required by the bearing and at nofaster or less rate.

These objects are attained in brief by providing surfaces about thebearing which, by reason of their shape, lend themselves to capillaryattraction and retention of oi1 in considerable quantitles. The oil isreadily given upto any moving part by reason of a reverse capillarymovement induced by the dryness. of the part.

Other objects and features will be ,apparent as the specification isperused in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a clock motor with the gearing inelevation showing the bearing surface of the motor shaft gearingprovided .with :the improved oil retaining elements.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1 andlooking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 illustrates a preliminary operation in the fabrication of theall metal oil retainer.

form in case the retainer is intended to be placed around a rotatingshaft.

Figures 6 and 7 are views somewhat similar Inasmuch as the inventionpertains especially` to the lubricating element which, in Figure l, hasbeen exemplified in connection with a clock motor, only the essentialelements of the motor will be described. y

In this figure, reference character I designates a tubular shell. ofmagnetic material having shoulders 2, 3 provided at the opposite endsthereof. 'I'here is mounted at the upper shoulder 2 an inner poleassembly indicated at 4, this assembly comprising pole pieces whichextend radially outward about the tubular member and terminate at aposition just Within the rotor element 5. The latter comprises acontinuous steel band sprung or otherwise secured within the flangedplate member 6 which is mounted for rotation on.a downwardly extendinghub 1 and a shaft 8.

A shading coil indicated at 9 which may comprise an annular band ofnonmagnetic material vsuch as copper weaves in and out of the radially'each alternate radial pole piece, thus shading that pole piece, butwill extend only over one side of the remaining alternate pole pieces.These latter pole pieces are therefore not shaded.

The outer pole piece assembly'for the motor is constituted of aplurality of radially extending pole pieces IU which are mounted aboutthe shoulder 3 at the lower end of the tubular element, these polepieces being bent outwardly to provide axially extending portions Il.These vertical pole pieces dene the cylindrical surface the diameter ofwhich is slightly larger than that of the rotor 5,- these pole piecesextending in an upward direction sufficient to overlap a considerableportion of the rotor. Thus the latter is adapted to rotate within anannular space formed between the outer edges of the inner pole pieceassembly 4 and the inner surfaces of the outer pole piece assembly I0.

A shading ring I2 may be provided for the pole pieces II, intertwiningthese pole pieces in such a manner that the ring extends over threesurfaces of alternate pole pieces in order to shade these pole pieces,but extends over only one surface of the remaining alternate polepieces.

A coil I3 to which a single phase alternating voltage is applied may beinsulatingly 'mounted on the tubular element I and between the inner andouter pole piece assemblies. When this coil is energized the magnetic`fields set up by the respective pole pieces at the rotor 5 and asmodi'- fiedjby the shading rings 9, I2 cause theA rotor to turn at arate dependent on the numberv of pairs of pole pieces,'as is well knownvin the art. Inasmuch as the revolutions per minute of the shaft 8 may bequite considerable,.it. is necessary to.

adequate lubricating facilities for that the shaft which enters thetubular ele- For this purpose the latter is made hol- 4 nique, aquantity of felt impregnated with oil which served as-an oil reservoirfor continuously lubricating therotating shaft 8 particularlyat thepositions washers I5.

terial of this character was continuous operation, considering the factthat the clock motor operates twenty-four hours each day, this materialtook on a hardened glaze which notonly prevented further oil fromreaching the bearing surfaces but it actually might become suicientlyhard to cause excessive friction or even to damage the shaft.

However, in accordance with the present invention there is providedanimproved formof oill retaining element, one whichrequires no.absorbent'material but instead may be fabricated completely out of metaland yet will retain sufcient oil to last the motor throughout a longoperating life. This oil retaining element may take on many forms andshapes depending on the character, shape and position of the bearing tobe protected andalso depending on whether the parts have a rotary orreciprocatory movement.

In Figure 1 the improved'oil retaining element is exemplified by a pairof cylindrical members I6 concentrically arranged and positioned in' theannular space normally occupied by the felt or other oil absorbentmaterial. While these mem-f bers may be made in a number of differentways, we prefer to form eachrmember from a1 at piece of metal stock,preferably of lead or, if desired, of `tin hardened babbitt Thethickness of the stock will vary according to the size of the bearing,but in the caseof a small clock motor, we have obtained satisfactoryresults using metal of approximately nl! inc'h thick.

A small strip of this metal indicated at I1 (Figure 3) is i'lrstprovided with semi-circular incisions I8 arranged preferably inhorizontal and vertical rows, these incisions beingspaced apart nogreater than is necessary to preclude undue weakening of the metal:strip as a whole. These incisions may be made on a quantity productionbasis by means of a punch press and the provided with a shoulder I4 ateach' whererthe shaft entered the thrustv However,- when anv absorbentma-v employed, after long,l

has been placed in position. 'It"wi`l1"-befffo tween the shaft 8 and theinner @11i .iftfaimg-.lel

element, the strip is left in fiat formfwith the upset tabs as shown inFigure 4. A preferred use of an elementI of this character will bedescribed as .a further modification in connection with Figure 1.However, in case an oil retaining elementv of circular or cylindricalform is required, the fiat element withv upset tabs I9 is then bent,Apreferably around a small mandrel of predetermined size, and theadjacent edges of the strip merely brought together in 'abuttingrelation because therey is no strainjplacedf'on-thefoil retainingelement. Figures gyand 'lsiioi'iit'lfie4 cylindrical element ofthischaracter'with*the tabs I9 extending outwardly from the cylindri-fcalbody I6. ,l': 2"" Referring now to Figure '1, afpair'offthelcylin-f'drical oil retaining elements I6 m d ner described immediately aboJthese elements being concentricallyarranged andi having such diametersthat thefouter e'dg fof" the tabs of the inner element cntabtjvitl'iffthf' inner cylindrical surface of theouterfoil'retaln ing element. Theouter edgesiofth'tabsfbf the@ outer oil retaining elementfp'referabl'yfsh'oiil contact'with the bore ofthe tubular lement'f'f." Thus both oilretaining elementsfareeiectl' l held in position within the tubularelemen even through not integrally joined to any part of the element butmerely by reason'of the/"contacts between the tabs I9 and"'th'ecylindrical surfaces'of the two oil retaining elements; 'arcani' be seenin Figure 2. 'Ihe lengtn'o'f'thefI "yliriders I6 should preferably besuch'as tofit snugly" tween the two innermost thrust washers -"I5.-'

The oil' retaining anddispen'singzopratid tabs are shown in Figures 9Atollincluls'iy''l'h oil is usually appliedto the annularF-spacebecisionsI8, then bridging thecorn'erfpaos i' tween the edges of the tabs"l9"fand'ltheifcylin# drical members I6, finally moving capillaryattraction over the entire surface; fi inner' and outer surface of eachtab I9, I'thus re'din a film of oil over al1 of the extended'surface Therate at which the Ioilfioies vX surfaces depends on a numbr'fof'ffactmainlyv on'the 'viscosity f thefoil andi-the n'gl'e to the drysurfacesand rias ci mtdnierbi einline mann waereV a taining theoilthroughout the entirefarea of eaohc/ 15 cylindrical. portion.andrea'dy to give up this oil when proper lubrication of the shaft Brequires thesame." In'Figure l0 thelevelof the'oilgas indicated =at.2`|.andfcontained in the innermost annular space ris'fillustratedas beinghalf Cde,v pleted, Whereas thelower portions of theftwo cylindersllfandthe ltabs |.9have in effectabsorbedthedepleted oil.Av

y The smaller gears 3|y of the train may be vjournaled at v32 'in theplate A21, the shaft projecting.v a slight distance just beyond thelower surface of the plate. In order to .lubricate the lower ends oftheshafts 32, also the cylindrical shaft 26, We may provide oil retainingelements of a.l flat form. In this case the plate 33 (Figurev 8) of theelement may be provided with openings' 34. as manyas there are shaftstoaccommodate, `these openingsl being adapted tore'- ceive 4the projecting l shafts.

About each opening therel are one,` tivo"morel rngsof tabs. 36: whicharebent slightlyout of line with the flat plate 33, similarly tothe tabs|9fof` the cylindrical form of element. Several of 'these plates Imay'be Vstacked together, three' y as indicatedin. Figure 1, andtheassemblage pro- InfF'igure-.ll the capillary action has. been en*-tirely` completedv in 'that v'all `the oil""originally presentv in theinner annularspacehas now-been spread over "alljof the Asurfacesv ofeach oil -retaining-element. It :has lbeen found in" practice that'whenvthe absorption-operation is complete,

there -is -fpositivelyjl no leakage ofv oil from .the oil.retainingelements buttllere is aslow move-- ment. ofthe loilfrom'thesevelements to each bear-1y ing 22 `at arate'suiicient'toiprovide thenecesesarylubrication.

It vis -awell known phenomenon rthat aliquid willmovefromla Wet'to'fadry surface dueto t molecular attraction "softhat as the bearings `224become dryand 'in need of lubrication,` thesefdry surfacesuwll' cause"thef oil to. leave the; oil* reetaining elements at amate-'sufficienttormaintain the `bearingsurfaces; wetwith oil Tlius no sur-l plus of oilwillkb'e present at the bearingsur# facesg-to cause leakage.` Tliefactwthatithe.oil

retaining velements.:Mii-:have presentv thereon: a

suflicientl iilrnofuoil has beenindicated -in the lowerportionsnof"the-'elements |6'in Figure 10 and throughout thev entiresurfaces of the elements in'Figure 11 by the` heavy black lines.

to movev by capillary effect.

It was pointedout that thevoil' retaining elements should preferably ybemade of a lead alloy, and We have` obtainedl satisfactory -results byern-A ploy-ing ay tin hardened babbitt. This metal-*oralloy offersthe'advantage' that-the leadxoxide reactsvwith the'sulphur. in the oiland forms -a black oxide which provides superior lubricating properties.i

The improved A.oil retaining element is not lim. ited 'to acylindricalform in which it surrounds the shaft tovbe lubricated,"butinstead.is-equally proficient when providedfin flat form to lubricate the ends`of shafts. This form of the ele"- meni; has also been illustrated inFigure 1.-

The shaft.` 8 terminates in a gear train generally indicated byY'the-reference: character 23,`gr the function of whichis. to give areduction: in speed fromthe `fast movingrotor E to the slow movingcorrugated spindlenZf` The latter usu ally `carries the minute hand ofthe clock sothat it Willrotate at one revolutionpe'r minute. The lastgear 25 ofthe train .Which carries theispinl dle 24 is journaled atv 26in a plate memberZTf which may form part of thegear casing 28. Thelatter is surrounded by a hollow'cylindricalhousing 29 which terminatesin lugs 30 for mounting purposes.

vided with'oil in anyy suitable manner. stack ofplatesfmayzbe'held` inposition by the gear casing'. 28'so1thatthe matter of assembly is quitesimple.v v o Asv thefsha'fts. 2li,y 32'require lubrication, oil isgiven.up by the tabs 36,y this oil tending to flow from' thewet'toward..tlie dryfsurface due to 'molecularattraction or surfacetension; thus maintaining the" shafts in aproperly lubricatedcondition.A It has v'been 'foundl .that kthe oil which is distributedthroughout` the 4tabs clingsso tenaciousl-y Vto the surface ofthe metalthat the motor and gear train can bef'm'oved into anyp'osition whatevervandlnone' ofthe oil leaves the'oil re'-v taining unit. Only capillary'attraction will cause the'oil to move. v While we have-described` ourimproved oil retaining element as constituting either a cylindri- 1calior flat metalmember provided'with semicircular .tabs bent out ofalignment atrthe proper angle' to promote a strong capillaryy effectdependingon the. viscosity of the bil, it will-beunderstood that other`shapes and positions vof tabs orextending portions may be used-toadvantage,`

the essential construction being that corner spaces are left between'theextensions andthey main metal body by which to start thebIidging'movement of oil after which .they oilv continues are properly designedas to` area and angle for a given viscosity of oil, it will be foundthat large quantities of oil can be stored along the surfaces lthusformed, more than sufficient for the lifetimev of an average clockmotor, and furthermore, the oil retaining element gives up its oilcompletely when necessity requires. 'Y

Obviously the amount' of oil thus stored depende not vonly on the sizeofthe oilv retaining element and number of tabs but also on the numberofl cylindrical` or flat elements which form each unit.V For the largerbearings, greater nurnbers of the elements i6, 33 maybe required. In-

fasmuch as the phenomenony of capillary attractionzlends itselfto'fnoparticular direction except as required inmoving from adry to awet surface or .vice versa, the direction of' rotation of the shaft has"no effect on thel proficiency With Which ythe bearing.is-satisfactorily lubricated.

Itk will be understood that we desire' to comprehend Within ourinvention such modifications as come` within the scope ofthe claims andthe invention. l

Having thus fully described our invention,-

what weclaim asnew Letters Patent is:

l. Anoil retaining element comprising a'metal and desire to secure bymember having` incisions and Vupset tabs extend-` ing away from theincisions at anv angle with re- The 'l When these 'tabsspect to thesurface of the metal member said incisions providing with said tabscapillary spaces such that the movementl of oil by capillarity along theupset tabs is facilitated.

2. An oil retaining element comprising a metal member with portionsextending from the surface of the metal member at an angle to formcrevices which may be bridged by oil due to capillary attraction, saidcrevices serving to store oil until needed for lubricating purpcses.

3. An all metal oil retaining unit comprising a metal element havingincisions of approximately semi-circular shape and portions bent out ofline lwith the element at each incision to form semi-circular tabs, saidtabs providing spaces which lend themselves to being bridged by oil dueto capillary attraction.

4. An oil, retaining unit comprising a metal shell over which the oildistributes itself, saidy shell being fabricated of a lead alloy, saidmetal shell being provided with portions extending from the metal shellat an angle to form crevices which may be bridged by oil dueto'capillary attraction, said crevices serving to store up oil untilneeded for lubricating purposes.

5. An oil retaining unit comprising a metal shell over which the oildistributes itself, said shell being fabricated of tin hardened babbitt,said metal shell being provided with portions extending from the metalshell at an angle to form crevices whichmay be bridged by oil due tocapillary attraction, said crevices serving to store up oil until neededfor lubricating purposes.

6. An oil retaining unit comprising a metal shell over which the oildistributes itself, said shell being fabricated of a metal whichcombines with the oil to provide a compound having high lubricatingproperties, saldmetal shell being provided with portions extending fromthe metal shell at an angle to form crevices which may be bridged by oildue to capillary attraction, said crevices serving to store up oil untilneeded for lubricating purposes.

7. A lubricated bearing for a shaft, said bearing comprising a tubularelement surrounding the shaft and leaving an annular space between theshaft and the element, an oil retaining unit in said space, said unitincluding a cylindrical member of metal surrounding th shaft andprovided with projections which extend from the body of the member andare adaptedto retain oil by capillary attraction.

8. A lubricated bearing for a shaft, said bearing comprising a tubularelement surrounding the shaft and having an annular space between theshaft and the element, an oil retaining unit in said space, said u nitincluding a plurality of metal cylinders arranged in concentric relationand each of the'cylinders being provided with projections which extendfrom the cylinders and are adapted to retain oil by capillaryattraction, said cylinders being spaced 'from one another and from theytubular element by the projections.

9. A lubricated bearingfor a shaft, said bear-y ing comprising atubularl element surrounding the shaft and having an annular spacebetween the shaft and the element, an oil retaining unit in said space,said unit including a cylindrical member of metal surrounding the shaftand provided with projections which extendv from the body of the memberand are adapted to retain oil by capillary attraction, said cylindricalmember being held in position within the annular space solely by thecontacts made between the projections and the tubular element.

10. A lubricated bearing for a shaft, said bearing comprising a fiatplate of metal having an opening to receive the shaft, and provided withprojections extending at an angle from said flat plate, and incisionsbeneath said projections, said incisions providing with said projectionscapillary spaces over which oil is adapted'to move by capillaryattraction and to distribute itself thereover, said oil being given upby the projections to the shaft by a reversal of the original capillaryeffect when lubrication is required.

WILLIAM L. HANSEN. IRA N. HURs'r. JOHN E. JoHNsoN.

